Just Drink the Cup Already!

When you are not with him perhaps drinking from the side of a cup would work. We did that at 5 months and it was the only way we could give her something to drink when we were not around. I instructed the care givers to just give her a cup like you might give someone a drink who was too sick to get up or something like that?? Caregivers would inevitably try other things first...bottle, sippy, etc but just drinking from the side of the cup (with cloth underneath to catch spills) was the only thing that worked. Good luck and it kind of sounds like he might be able to eat a little more food, too. I know when I was trying to cut back on bfing refusing and offering food instead was helpful.

Go away for the weekend. Take a pump with you for your own comfort. He'll be mighty angry, but he'll come around.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

I agree with get out of the house for a weekend. Every 2 hours is quite frequently at 9 mos. I think my kids were down to feeding every 4 hours at that age. I think he is using you more as a pacifier. have you tried a little juice from a cup?

hmmm You've tried your milk in a cup? I sort of hate to suggest it, but maybe juice would be appealing enough to train him to use the cup and then you could switch.
I"m trying ot remember since it;s been a while but every two hours seems like alot at that age and if it's starting to be a bit of a drag could you space out how often you nurse and make it every 2 hrs and 15 mins and then keep bumping it back? I guess that depends on how long he is going with out at night.

You are having another adult offer the cup right because of course he would refuse it from you.

hmmm I"ll keep thinking and hopefully someone else will have a suggestion.

I think it's great you have been committed to this and I hope you are able to find a way to decrease to what is reasonable for you and your son with out having to feel like you have to quit cold turkey.

I think he might be nursing for reasons other than food. Either that or he is REALLY hungry. Every 2 hours is too often for a 9 month old. I suggest you "practice" appropriate behavior at home so that he knows what you expect from him in public. That, and you have to start spacing out his nursing and increasing his cereal mixed with your milk.

You're nursing him too often, mama. He's a big baby now and doesn't need the milk that often. He wants to nurse for other reasons. So what you need to do is start weaning him from your breasts by moving to every 4 hours.

Don't try a bottle. You don't want to have to wean him from a bottle - by the time he finally will take it is when you should be weaning him from it.

So, keep offering the cup. I'd use watered down juice, like apple juice which is good for helping him keep from getting constipated. Once he is okay with a cup, then use warm whole milk.

Some kiddies don't like the sippy part of the cup. Try taking the lid off to teach him.

You need to tell him no to nursing when you are out. Don't nurse in public anymore - this every 2 hours thing is keeping him from learning to use the cup.

Dawn

My daughter wouldn't BF at that age if there was anything else interesting to look at at all, so she didn't get fed when we were out of the house. She also didn't even get fussy and would patiently wait until we got home. I don't know how your son is when you are out, but what about offering him a cup when you're out and that's it? Feed him when you get home. He can easily go 4 hours without eating at that age, he proves it at daycare.

My daughter also did that at daycare, for six hour days when she was only 3 months old. For 4 full weeks, she had nothing to eat while there, but never cried, just waited for me to come feed her. The fifth week, she broke down and drank from a bottle.

i know it's hard to say no to a screaming baby, but sometimes you just have to. they're your breasts, and he is not allowed to bare them in public, nor to demand them at home when there are other alternatives.
you can be quiet, calm, sympathetic and loving, and still say no.
i think it's time.
khairete
S.

I can honestly say that by 9 months most kids are taking 3-4 bottles per day. One in the morning, one at lunch, another in the afternoon and then again at bedtime. With some food offered in between. Not a lot, formula and breastmilk is total nutrition and food is not even needed.

You just need to say no. Then let him eat when it's meal time. Offer the cup, although I never had any that I offered a cup to until they were over a year old. I never had a need to do so.

This too shall pass.....I got my BF babies used to a cup while they were in the bathtub, filling it with clean water; the mess didn't matter and they got used to it fairly easily. I agree that it's okay to say "not now", but a 9 month olds understanding of that is limited. While I was a breastfeeding mom, sometimes, our activities were limited, or I would nurse before we went; but so often my babes nursed for comfort, which it sounds like yours is doing - there is nothing wrong with that. But I also believe that BF is a relationship, so if you are ready to make a change, then I know you will figure out what that would look like.

My daughter didn't want to drink from anything else either. I finally got her to drink out of a cup with a spout but not the sippy. That way I got the milk started for her and she could figure out what to do with the cup from there. You can also pull out the rubber insert from the sippy cup so it drips out a bit into his mouth. He might even drink from a regular cup like he sees you doing.

Sorry, but I agree with the others that every 2 hours is way too often. If he's just thirsty that often, he can drink some water or juice unless the doctor says otherwise.

Have you tried chocolate milk from the cup? By nine months my kids were only nursed after meals and at bedtime. He is well past the feed on demand stage, so you can refuse him.

I've seen similar questions, and others have suggested putting bandaids over your nipples and saying owie, they're broken, while at the same time offering a sippie cup. I have no idea if it works or not, but the bandaids do deny him access at times you want him to use a sippy. Might be worth a shot.